Khartoum / Omdurman — Sudan’s most recent attempt at a ceasefire has failed yet again today, with reports of the humanitarian truce between the warring factions being violated within the first few hours after heavy artillery fire reverberated across the capital. The death toll now surpasses 300, according to the World Health Organisation’s estimate, and at least 174 civilian deaths and 1041 injuries were confirmed yesterday by medical activists.
Lawyer Sateh El Haj told Radio Dabanga that the conflicting parties did not abide by the humanitarian truce, stating that the continued barrage of shelling continued through the night and day.
Sudan’s Trilateral Mechanism comprised of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), African Union (AU), Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) renewed their calls for a ceasefire, amid the sixth day of violent clashes between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The Arab League urged the two opposing camps to announce a ceasefire during the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Fitr. In a statement from the league’s Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit yesterday, he stated his hope that Sudan’s parties de-escalate “in the name of Islam, Arab values, and humanity”. Adding that, the conflict must end to allow those caught in the crossfire “to access food supplies and medical assistance at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan”.
Cadavers
Sudan’s Central Committee of Health Officers earlier warned of an “impending environmental catastrophe”, as a result of the decomposing remains of those who fell victim to the inter-factional crossfire.
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The Chief Inspector at the Federal Ministry of Health Abdelmajed Ahmed told Radio Dabanga that the corpses scattered throughout various neighbourhoods were a “matter of urgency”. The inspector stated that the dead bodies must be dealt with according to public health protocols to prevent “the breeding of vector-borne diseases, which doubles the risk of a potential spread of epidemic diseases”.
In a statement by the health committee, they called on the immediate cessation of the SAF-RSF clashes, or to at least allow “the environmental sanitation teams to move freely to secure the cadavers, provide them with the time they need to carry out their services”.
Heavy shelling
Locals near the SAF General Command Headquarters in Khartoum told Radio Dabanga of the heavy artillery battles being fought in its vicinity. Yesterday eyewitnesses to the bombing and subsequent burning of aviation fuel stores at the Khartoum International Airport depicted the skies which had become blackened with plumes of thick smoke; a scene now all too familiar for those in Khartoum.
The Sudanese Journalists Syndicate revealed that their staff were stranded in the Public Authority for Radio and Television building in Omdurman. They stated that a number of them had been evacuated, however the “situation is witnessing a rapid deterioration and the fighting is getting fiercer between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces”.
